mallen



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

R. MALLEN. MAGAZINE FIRE ARM. No. 386,889. Patented July 31, 1888.

[HillIlllHIIIIIHHlllllllllllllllllill UHHHHIHI (No Model.) 2.Sheets-Sheet 2.

- R. MALLEN.

MAGAZINE FIRE ARM.

,889. Patented July 31, 1888.

RAFAEL MALLE'Y, OF MEXICO, MEXICO.-

MAGAZINE FIRE-ARM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters'Iatent No. 386,889, dated July 31,1888.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, RAFAEL MALLEN, an officer in the Mexican Army and acitizen of the Republic of Mexico, residing at the City of Mexico, inthe Republic of Mexico, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Repeating-Rifles; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same.

The main characteristics of this improved rifle in which theimprovements mainly consist'are as follows: The rifichas afixedbreechhlock, and the firing-chamber at the base of the barrel in whichthe cartridges are located when fired is rectangular in cross section.The cartridgereceiving or storage chamber incloses the barrel of therifle and is placed parallel with the firing-chamber. Oommunication isestablished between the storage and firing chambers to reload the gun,and at the same time the firing chamber is opened to dis charge thefired shell by means of a sliding carriage of peculiar construction.This carriage comprises in a single piece the two side walls of thefiringchamber and the firing or percussion pin, and it is adapted to bedrawn back toward the stock of the ritle. \Vhen so drawn back, thefiring-chamber is opened on opposite sidesto discharge the spent shelland to receive a fresh cartridge. The forward movement ofthe carriagecloses the sides of the firingchamber,and just as this is accomplishedthe firing or percussion pin explodes the perenssioncap and fires thecharge. The backward movement of the sliding carriage and the consequentreloading of the rifle are eii'ected by the utilization of a portion ofthe gases resulting from the explosion of the cartridge, which act uponsuitable mechanism to accomplish the desired result. ment of the slidingcarriage is effected by means 01 a spring.

In addition to these main features the invention also comprises safetydevices for pre venting the firing of the rifle except when de sired, asignal device for showing when thestorage-chamber needs replenishing,andmechanism for putting the parts into operative po. sition for the firstfiring of the same.

The cartridge herein shown and described The forward move Applicationfiled August 15, 185:7. Serial No. 347390. (No model.)

is the subject of my application, No. 258,552), liled December 21, 1887.

The invention is illustrated in the accompa. nying drawings'in whichFigure l is a side view of the rille complete. Fig. 2 is a centralvertical longitudinal section thereof, parts being broken away to permitits illustration on a larger scale. Fig. 3 is a. central horizontallongitudinal section, also broken away. Fig. 4 isacrosssection throughthe storing and firing chambers in a plane in dicated by the line 4. 4in Figs. 1, 2, and 3; Fig. 5 is a cross section on the line 5 5. Fig. (3is a cross-section on the line 6 c. Fig. 7 is detail perspective of thesliding carriage. Fig. 8 is a cross section of the rear end of the same.'Fig. 9 is adetail view of the cartridgefollower. Fig. 10 is alongitudinal section of the cartridge, and Fig. ll is a cross sectionthereof on the line 11 ll. I

A is the barrel ofthe rifle; I the stock; l,the stationary breech-block,and I) the firing-chamber, in which is located a cartridge, E. ilartl yallel with the firing-chamber is the storagechamber F, which is inclosedby a thin plate, G, entirely surrounding the rifle.

H is the sliding carriagawhich is composed of abreech-piece,a, locatedbehind the breechblock, and side pieces, be, integral with or rigidlysecured to the breech-piece a, which slide on either side of thefiring-chamber and constitute the side walls thereof, one of the pieces,b,separating the firing-chamber from the storage-chamber. In order topermit the passage of the cartridges from the storage to the firingchamber the sliding carriage must be moved back so that the side pieceI) will offerno obstruction to the passage of a cartridge, and since thebreech-piece a of the carriage is behind the breech-block the stock ofthe ritlcis made hollow to permit the movement of the carriage. Thebarrel of the rifle and the side pieces of thecarriage are suit-ablytongued and grooved to guide the carriage, and longitudinal guidestripsd d in the stock of the rifle co-operate with slots 0 e in thebreechpiece of the carriage to hold and guide the same.

The breech-block G of the ride is provided with a central longitudinalaperture, f, in which enters the firing or percussion pin g,

surrounding and inclosing the barrel and par- IOC which is formed on thebreech-piece a between the side pieces, I) c. The cartridges areintroduced into the storage-chamberFin the usual manner, as in the 5\Vinchester rifle, through an aperture, It, in the side of the rifle,which aperturi-e may be closed by a plate, as is usual in such cases.\Vithin the storage'chamber is a sliding plate or follower, I, against,which the innermost cartridge rests. This follower is forced forward bymeans of coiled springs i, interposed between the plate and the closedend of the storagechamher,which press the cartridge toward the side b ofthe sliding carriage. When the rifle has been fired and the slidingcarriagev drawn back,thc springs 2 force the fresh cartridge against theempty shell in the tiringchamber. The withdrawal of the sliding carriagealso withdraws the side piece 0, constituting the side wall of thefiring-chamber opposite the entrance of the loaded cartridges, and intothe space created by the withdrawal of the side piece 0 the empty shellis forced by the tension of the springs t, a loadedcartridgereplacingitin front of the breech-block. When now the slidingcarriage is again advanced,the forward ends of its side pieces enter onone side between the empty shell and the cartridge in position in frontof the breechblock, and on the other side between the cartridge inposition and the remaining cartridges in the storage-chamber. theentrance 'of the side-pieces their forward ends,j 7:,are beveled,asshown. 'lheextreme end k by the side piece 6 is contracted in width, sothat a shoulder, Z, is formed atits forward end, which shoulder, on theadvance of the carriage, comes in contact with the empty shell, which isthus forced forward out through an aperture at that side of the rifle,and is thus discharged. This action will be repeated until thecartridges in the storagechamber are exhausted.

Just before or at the instant that the firingpin 5] strikes the loadedcartridge the ends of the side pieces, I) 0, come in contact with thebarrel of the rifle, thus making an unbroken bore.

The sliding carriage is projected forward to fire the cartridge by meansof a coiled spring, J, interposed between the breech-piece of thecarriage and the butt of the rifle. It is re tracted by the followingmeans: Beneath the barrel of the rifle is a cylinder, K, whichcommunicates with the bore of the barrel by means of a passage, m, whichopens from the bore just in front of the cartridge. In this cylinder isfitted a piston, L, the rear end of which 1 is at all times forward ofthe pointwhere the passage m enters the cylinder. This piston is formedwith a rearwardly-extcnding pistonrod, M, which extends back into thehollow stock of the gun. At its rear end this pistonrod carries atail-piece, N, the upper end of which is beveled to constitute a hook orcatch,

a, which is in the path of the lower part of the To facilitate end of abell-crank lever, P, pivoted within the hollow stock. This lever andtrigger-plate are pressed normally forward by a coiled spring, q. andthe lever is rocked by the manual retraction of the triggerplate. Theupper end of the bell-crank enters a slot, n, in the lower end of thetailpiece N of the sliding piston-rod immediately above a crosspin, 'r,therein.

Assuming now that the sliding carriage 0c cupies its rear position withits lip 0 engaged by the catch a, on sliding back the triggerplate thebell-crank lever is rocked and the tail-piece N is depressed, thepiston-rod havsuificient elasticity for this purpose. The tailpiece bythis means is depressed, so as to disengage the catch a and lip o. Thesliding carriage, being thus disengaged, is thrown forward by theimpulse of the spring J and fires the cartridge, as before described. Assoon as the cartridge is fired, a portion of the gas formed enters-underpressure the cylinder K through the passage m in the rear of the pistonL, thus forcing the same forward until the catch nagaiu comes in contactwith the lip o engaging the two. The engagement of the lip and catch isfacilitated bya spring, 8. As soon as the ball or charge has passed outof the gun, the gas generated by the ex plosion passes into the openair, thus restoring the pressure within the cylinder K to the normal.The piston is then retracted toitsoriginal position by a strong coiledspring, Q, which is secured at opposite ends to the piston-rod and thestock ofthe rifle. This spring Q is considerably stronger than thespring J, so that the sliding carriage is carried backwith the piston inposition ready for the next firing. The rifle can thus be firedpractically as rapidly as the finger ean draw back the triggerplate.

J in order to ease the forward movement of the piston, a screw-plug, R,having central aperture, t, is fitted in the forward end of the cylinderK to constitute an air-compressing chamber to cushion the piston. Apassage, n", is formed in the lower part of the cylinder inline with thepassage m, which is closed by a screw-plug, '0, its object being toenable the passage m to be readily cleaned.

In case the cartridges become exhausted in the storage-chamber withoutthe user being aware of the fact the follower I would be pressed intothe firing-chamber and would be injured by the forward'movement of thecarriage. To prevent this, and at the same time notify the user when itis necessary to replenish the cartridges, a sliding indicator pin, S,projects outwardly from the storage-chamber.

IIO

The-rear end of the follower-plate I is pro- ..vided with a. hook, 20,which engages (by. the

spring in the follower-plate) the lower end of the pin S- As thefollower is then pressed forward, it lifts the pin S above the level ofthe riflebarrel,;which indicates to theuser that .the sup'plyofcartridges needs replenishing.

In the ease of the first using of the rifle the catch 72 and lip 0should not be in engagement;

or, if in its use they should for some reason tending through the wallof the rifle-barrel .td.,-and-so press back the carriage into engagementwith the catch n. Secured to the operating end of the rod '1 is anelastic or spring plunger, U, which, when the rod '1, is pressed back,is pushed into the space left vacant by the side piece 0, filling thesame and occupying the space which is normally filled by an emptycartridge-shell.

To facilitate moving back the carriage by the rod T, the tension of thespring J may be relieved. This spring bears against a sliding backplate, U, which has an operating thumbpiecc, V, and a tongue, b, whichnormally engages a catch-aperture, c", to hold the plate U By.disengaging the tongueb'. the plate U will be forward with the springunder tension.

pressed back, thus relieving the tension of-the spring. \Vhen thus movedback, the plate U constitutes a safety device, since the spring willthen not have suflicieut tension to explode the cartridge. A positivesafety device is, however, provided to absolutely prevent the dischargeof the cartridge by preventing the tiring-pin coming in contact with thecartridge. Pivoted to the stock of the rifle is an arm, \V, having adownwardly-extcnding bifurcated projection, X, which enters a slotin thestock immediately in the rear of the breech-block. YVhen the projectionX is thus located, as

shown in Fig. 2, the breech-piece of the carriage, when it is movedforward, comes in contact with it, and thus the firing-pin fails toreach the cartridge. When the rifle is to be fired, the arm \V is swungback out of the way.

Y is a spring to hold the arm W in place. The firing-chamber wherein theloaded car- I ing-pin.

t-ridge is placed to be fired, it will be observed, is necessarilyrectangular in cross section. With an ordinary cartridge a portion ofthe gas resulting from the explosion of the charge would pass out aroundthe ball 'and either prevent or interfere with the projection of theball. Moreover, with .a fixed breech-block an ordinary cartridge whichcould be introduced would be moved forward in the-chamber instead offired by the contact of the fir- A peculiar construction of cart-ridgeand ball is therefore required. The cartridegshell is cylindrical andcarries a conical ball, Z. A portion of the ball, however, extends aconsiderable distance within the cartridgeshell, and is withinlthecartridge-shell a hollow cylinder. When new the cartridge is fired, theball will haveentered the cylindrical bore of the rifle before thecylindrical portion of the ball has quitted. the shell, so that no gascan pass in front ofthe ball.

The rear end of the-cartridge shell hasa cylindrical groove, d, which isengaged by projections w a: on the top and bottom wall of thefiring-chamber, which prevent the displacement of the shell. Betweenthis groove and the rear end ofthe cartridge is placed a smallperforated metallic plate, e, between which and the rear end ofthecartridge the fulmiate is placed, it communicating with the powderthrough the; apertures in the plate. The fulminate is thus held behindan unyielding surface, which insures its explosion when the rear wall ofthe cartridge is struck bythe tiring-pin.

I claim as my invention- '1. In a repeating-rifle, a firingchainber, astorage chamber alongside said firingchamher, and a stationarybreech-block, in combination with a sliding carriage having sides whichconstitute the opposite walls ofthe firing-chamber and which separatethe firing and storage chambers, substantially as set forth.

2. In a repeating-rifle, a firing-chamber, a storagechamber alongsidethe same, and a stationary breech-block, in combination with a slidingcarriage composed of a breech-piece in the rear of the breech-block,side pieces connected to said breech piece, which consti tute the sidewalls of the firing-chamber, and a firing-pin carried by thebreech-piece, substantially as set forth.

3. In a repeating-rifle, a firing-pin, aspring which impels saidfiring-pin forward to fire the charge, a cylinderalongside the boreofthe rifle, and a passage connecting the bore of the rifle with therear end of said cylinder, in combination with a piston within saidcylinder, which is moved forward by the gases generated by the explosionof the charge, a piston-rod connected to said piston, a catch on saidpiston,which engages said firing-pin when the piston is moved forward,and a. spring for retracting said piston and with it said firingpin,substantially as set forth'.

4. In a repeating-rifle, a spring'actuated firbination with a slidingplunger which occupies the space left vacant by the side piece of thecarriage opposite to the mouth of the storage-chamber when the carriageis moved backward, substantially as set forth.

' In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

RAFAEL MALLEN.

Witnesses:

WM. HELMIOK, Jos. H. BLACKWOOD.

